Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro challenged on Tuesday his Colombian counterpart Ivan Duque for a public debate on the situation in Venezuela.
MEXICO CITY (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th September, 2018) Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro challenged on Tuesday his Colombian counterpart Ivan Duque for a public debate on the situation in Venezuela.
"I challenge Ivan Duque for a public dispute. If he wants, I can be in New York or Washington, I'm not afraid," Maduro said on state television.
According to Maduro, Duque speaks more about Venezuela than about Colombia itself.
"He seems to be obsessed, sick [about Venezuelan issues]. If you want to talk about Venezuela, let's go to a public debate," the president said.
Venezuela has been engulfed in a deep economic crisis, with hyperinflation and food shortages. Besides, the country has been facing mass protests. Venezuelans are seeking asylum in other countries, with over 2 million people having left Venezuela since 2014, according to the United Nations. Some 1 million of them remain in Colombia.
On Friday, Duque, who succeeded Manuel Santos as Colombian president on August 7, asked the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) for financial assistance over the influx of Venezuelan refugees. On Thursday, Duque doubted the need for an international invasion of Venezuela, which was proposed by OAS chief Luis Almagro. According to him, it would legitimize the country's "dictatorship."
